Hailee Steinfeld talks Oscar-nominated True Grit role

“It was huge, a lot of girls auditioned for it”

Fourteen-year-old actress Hailee Steinfeld earned herself a Best Supporting Actress nomination for The Coen Brothers’ True Grit this week - and she’s been talking about how close she came to not landing the role.

“I heard 15,000 [ girls auditioned ], but that's a big number, so I don't know,” she says. “It was huge. A lot of girls auditioned for it.”

Steinfeld very almost didn’t get to read for the part, though, as she completely missed the Coen’s nationwide open casting call.

“I heard about it through my mum's cousin,” she says. “We went to my agent about it and she said the Coen brothers had already gone back to New York and it was down to three girls.

“But then I got a call to put together a tape and two days later I got called back to read with [the casting director] and then a month later with the Coen brothers.”

It’s lucky for us that she got the part – and for Steinfeld, who could become one of the few young actresses ever to receive an Oscar before their 15th birthday.